Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort MyersThe Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
Leah Lefkove, 9, shows off her vaccination sticker just before being the first child to be vaccinated at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray) Schools that allowed unvaccinated students exposed to COVID to stay in school as long as they continuously tested negative and followed mitigation measures were able to reduce the time students lost in the classroom and limit the spread of the virus, according to two reports released by the Centers for Disease Control Friday. The practice — commonly known as “test to stay” — is designed to limit the number of kids who have to stop in-person learning and quarantine by allowing students to stay in school if they’re exposed to a positive case as long as they consistently test negative for the virus. In one report, the agency assessed the use of the practice in Lake County, Illinois, from early August through October. During this period, more than 250 positive cases were identified, resulting in more than 1,000 close contacts that qualified for the “test to stay” program. Nearly 97% of students who qualified for the program participated. The CDC found that among close contacts who participated in the program, 16 ultimately tested positive, none of whom spread the virus to other school-based contacts (although nine tertiary cases were reported among household contacts of the 16 secondary cases. Secondary exposure occurs when a person is directly exposed to a person who has had direct contact with someone who has contracted COVID. A tertiary contact takes place when a person is exposed to someone with secondary exposure). The agency also found that students participating in the program preserved more than 8,100 total school days. In Los Angeles, the agency found similar results and said the ratio of COVID-19 incidence among students in schools utilizing test-to-stay strategies, compared to those that did not, were similar before and after implementation. Schools that did not implement a test to stay measures lost more than 90,000 school days as a result of quarantines over the course of the study period (September 20 through October). “Taken together, these findings reinforce the usefulness of TTS for helping to maintain in-person learning in school,” the authors reported. While the results suggest the strategy has benefits, the CDC stopped short of formally recommending the practice and noted that barriers exist to implementation. It demands substantial resources, both in terms of staffing and access to tests and “may not be a viable option for every school.” In Los Angeles, only one in five schools participated in the program, and those that didn’t cite resource-related reasons for opting out. The CDC is including the policy as an added preventative layer schools may consider, in addition to masking and vaccination. “School district administrators and local public health agencies should make efforts to ensure that such Test-to-Stay strategies if offered, are available in an equitable way among students and across schools,” the agency wrote. At least seven states have given schools the option to institute the policy in some form, although specific recommendations have varied. In Massachusetts, “test to stay” was implemented in late July, ahead of the new school year, and if used, it requires daily tests for close contacts. The Illinois state board of education says schools may also follow “test to stay,” but it advises that students should be tested on days one, three, five and seven following exposure. Others, like California and Washington, require at least two tests a week. In Utah, the practice is required by law for schools that meet a specific case threshold. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky had said in October that the agency was considering such guidance, calling the practice “a promising potential new strategy for schools.” The updated guidance comes as federal officials reportedly expect demand for testing to soar in the coming months. Abbott, one of the leaders in rapid test diagnostics, said in a statement that it is making more than 50 million tests a month and can produce even more if necessary. According to data from the CDC, the CDC is performing nearly 1.4 million PCR tests per day, a likely undercount of the total number of tests performed daily, given that the agency is not tracking rapid antigen tests. COVID cases among children have remained high since a late-summer surge. At least 100,000 cases have been reported among kids each week for the past four months and there was a nearly 24% rise in cases reported the week ending December 9 compared to the week before. According to new data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as of December, nearly 100% of public school students were offered in-person instruction and 99% of fourth and eighth graders attended full-time in-person learning. In March, following the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration announced it was investing $10 billion to assist schools with their testing programs for students and staff.